(no subject)
Title: Haunted Chapter 1/?
Prompt: 92 - Haunted
Word Count: 1020
Written for:
100_situations
Requested by:
failegaidin
Rating: PG (if that)
Summary: Chloe deals with a haunting
A/N: The characters still aren't mine, only the idea is. Special thanks to
failegaidin and
rorylie for all their help!
The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul, which opens to that primeval cosmic night that was soul long before there was conscious ego and will be soul far beyond what a conscious ego could ever reach.
A piercing scream ripped through the night air, shattering the peace of night into a million pieces. Chloe bolted upright, sweat dripping down her face. Still breathing hard, she glanced over at her clock and groaned. This was the second week in a row that she had been waking up like this. Usually around 12:30am. Always the same way. She didn't know what the cause of the scream was, but it chilled her to her bones. Despite the sweat on her brow she wrapped the blanket around her body a little tighter. Her heart rate was slowly returning to normal now. She was tired, no exhausted really, but she knew with experience that the rest of the night would be spent tossing and turning, leaving her with little rest for the coming day.
***
Nadia sighed as she looked over at Chloe's desk. She could see the dark circles under her friend's eyes despite the makeup used to try and hide them. Even on a bad day Chloe was still more productive than 90% of the other analysts at CTU, but she hated to see her friend look so worn down. She knew Chloe would resist, but she had to try and talk to her and get her to tell her what was the cause of her exhaustion. Nadia sighed again, this wasn't going to be easy. Chloe was never one to talk about what was bothering her, it was like pulling teeth to get the woman to discuss anything remotely personal. Steeling herself for what could be a difficult conversation, Nadia headed over to where Chloe was working on some satellite feeds.
"Hey Chloe can I talk to you for a minute?"
"I'm kind of busy at the moment Nadia, what do you want?"
"I was just worried about you."
"Yeah well you don't have to be I'm fine."
"We both know that's not true, you look exhausted, like you haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks!"
Chloe sighed, "Well that's because I haven't. I haven't been sleeping well ok? I can still do my job just fine."
"I didn't come over here to talk to you because of your work performance, I came because you're my friend and I was worried about you."
"Well thanks but I'm fine, so you can stop worrying and just let me get back to work." And with that Chloe turned back to the computer screen in front of her.
Realizing the conversation was finished, Nadia sighed as she headed back to her desk. Right as she reached it, the phone rang. "Nadia Yassir."
"Nadia, it's Jack, I need you to come up to my office for a minute."
"Alright, I'll be right there." Nadia glanced one more time over at Chloe's workstation as she made her way up the stairs. Deep in thought, she failed to notice two pairs of eyes watching her troubled expression.
"Is everything ok Nadia? You look worried," asked Bill.
Nadia's eyes shot up in surprise at the sound of his voice. "What? Oh, uh, yeah, I guess I'm just a bit concerned about Chloe. She seems so exhausted lately. I tried to talk to her but she won't let me in. I don't know what to do."
Jack finally spoke up, "That's actually why we called you in here. We've noticed it too, and we're all concerned for her."
Bill stood up from his seat and started pacing around the office. "So does anyone have any idea what could be the cause of this? Nadia, you talked to her, did she give any indication as to what was going on?"
Nadia shook her head, "No, you know how she is. She's not talkative on the best days. The only thing she mentioned was that she hadn't been sleeping well. No explanation as to why though."
Jack looked between the two of them, "You guys have been around her a lot more than I have, especially since I just got cleared for active duty again. Anyone know when this started? Maybe that'd give us a better idea as to the cause."
"Well the first time I remember seeing her starting to look so tired was a few days after you came back," said Nadia looking at Jack.
"That was a rough day for everyone," Bill interjected, "do you think it has anything to do with Morris? They were arguing a lot that day, and then he went and resigned. Do you know if they're even still together?"
"No," said Nadia, shaking her head. "They broke up later that day after the crisis was over. She told me she wasn't even that sure why she had gotten back with him."
"Knowing him, he probably weaseled his way back into her home, he was always good at that it seemed," said Jack thinking aloud.
Bill turned from where he had stopped pacing, looking out over the bullpen. "Nadia, why don't you have Milo look into her system, see if he finds anything that could clue us into what's bothering her. Maybe in an email or a file. Anything that could help."
"Are you authorizing us to access her personal information Bill? You know she'll find out eventually, and she will not be happy about that. Not at all."
Bill sighed, "I'm not any happier about it, but if it's the only way to get to the bottom of this then I'm willing to make that decision. Chloe's good, but I don't know how long even she can go before it starts to affect her work, and we need her in top shape."
- Carl Jung
Prompt: 92 - Haunted
Word Count: 1020
Written for:
100_situations
Requested by:
failegaidin
Rating: PG (if that)
Summary: Chloe deals with a haunting
A/N: The characters still aren't mine, only the idea is. Special thanks to
failegaidin and
rorylie for all their help!
The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul, which opens to that primeval cosmic night that was soul long before there was conscious ego and will be soul far beyond what a conscious ego could ever reach.
A piercing scream ripped through the night air, shattering the peace of night into a million pieces. Chloe bolted upright, sweat dripping down her face. Still breathing hard, she glanced over at her clock and groaned. This was the second week in a row that she had been waking up like this. Usually around 12:30am. Always the same way. She didn't know what the cause of the scream was, but it chilled her to her bones. Despite the sweat on her brow she wrapped the blanket around her body a little tighter. Her heart rate was slowly returning to normal now. She was tired, no exhausted really, but she knew with experience that the rest of the night would be spent tossing and turning, leaving her with little rest for the coming day.
***
Nadia sighed as she looked over at Chloe's desk. She could see the dark circles under her friend's eyes despite the makeup used to try and hide them. Even on a bad day Chloe was still more productive than 90% of the other analysts at CTU, but she hated to see her friend look so worn down. She knew Chloe would resist, but she had to try and talk to her and get her to tell her what was the cause of her exhaustion. Nadia sighed again, this wasn't going to be easy. Chloe was never one to talk about what was bothering her, it was like pulling teeth to get the woman to discuss anything remotely personal. Steeling herself for what could be a difficult conversation, Nadia headed over to where Chloe was working on some satellite feeds.
"Hey Chloe can I talk to you for a minute?"
"I'm kind of busy at the moment Nadia, what do you want?"
"I was just worried about you."
"Yeah well you don't have to be I'm fine."
"We both know that's not true, you look exhausted, like you haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks!"
Chloe sighed, "Well that's because I haven't. I haven't been sleeping well ok? I can still do my job just fine."
"I didn't come over here to talk to you because of your work performance, I came because you're my friend and I was worried about you."
"Well thanks but I'm fine, so you can stop worrying and just let me get back to work." And with that Chloe turned back to the computer screen in front of her.
Realizing the conversation was finished, Nadia sighed as she headed back to her desk. Right as she reached it, the phone rang. "Nadia Yassir."
"Nadia, it's Jack, I need you to come up to my office for a minute."
"Alright, I'll be right there." Nadia glanced one more time over at Chloe's workstation as she made her way up the stairs. Deep in thought, she failed to notice two pairs of eyes watching her troubled expression.
"Is everything ok Nadia? You look worried," asked Bill.
Nadia's eyes shot up in surprise at the sound of his voice. "What? Oh, uh, yeah, I guess I'm just a bit concerned about Chloe. She seems so exhausted lately. I tried to talk to her but she won't let me in. I don't know what to do."
Jack finally spoke up, "That's actually why we called you in here. We've noticed it too, and we're all concerned for her."
Bill stood up from his seat and started pacing around the office. "So does anyone have any idea what could be the cause of this? Nadia, you talked to her, did she give any indication as to what was going on?"
Nadia shook her head, "No, you know how she is. She's not talkative on the best days. The only thing she mentioned was that she hadn't been sleeping well. No explanation as to why though."
Jack looked between the two of them, "You guys have been around her a lot more than I have, especially since I just got cleared for active duty again. Anyone know when this started? Maybe that'd give us a better idea as to the cause."
"Well the first time I remember seeing her starting to look so tired was a few days after you came back," said Nadia looking at Jack.
"That was a rough day for everyone," Bill interjected, "do you think it has anything to do with Morris? They were arguing a lot that day, and then he went and resigned. Do you know if they're even still together?"
"No," said Nadia, shaking her head. "They broke up later that day after the crisis was over. She told me she wasn't even that sure why she had gotten back with him."
"Knowing him, he probably weaseled his way back into her home, he was always good at that it seemed," said Jack thinking aloud.
Bill turned from where he had stopped pacing, looking out over the bullpen. "Nadia, why don't you have Milo look into her system, see if he finds anything that could clue us into what's bothering her. Maybe in an email or a file. Anything that could help."
"Are you authorizing us to access her personal information Bill? You know she'll find out eventually, and she will not be happy about that. Not at all."
Bill sighed, "I'm not any happier about it, but if it's the only way to get to the bottom of this then I'm willing to make that decision. Chloe's good, but I don't know how long even she can go before it starts to affect her work, and we need her in top shape."
- Carl Jung